OM demands four years against handyman in Ruinerwold case

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands a four-year prison sentence against 61-year-old Josef B., for the abuse and deprivation of liberty of the children of the family that was kept hidden from the outside world in a remote farm in Ruinerwold. The prosecutor believes that the man should immediately return to prison after a conviction.

The family has lived in total seclusion on a remote farm since 2010 and was discovered in October 2019 after one of the children raised the alarm in the village. B. was the tenant of the property. He refurbished the farm and supported the family financially. The six adult children who lived there were never registered with the registry office by their father Gerrit Jan van D., did not attend school and did not receive medical care.

B. had known Van D. for decades through the infamous Moon sect. After leaving the sect, Van D. developed his own faith. B. closely followed Van D. as a disciple. The family consists of nine children and lived in Hasselt, Zwartsluis and Meppel. The three oldest children left the family when it settled in Ruinerwold.

Diaries

According to the public prosecutor, the diaries of the children and (video) diaries of their father show that Van D. systematically abused or isolated his children because they carried an “evil energy” with them. Van D. saw himself as the patriarch and prepared his children for a life in a new world. According to the prosecutor, B. played a crucial role in the survival of this system. According to the children, they were not beaten by B. and B. was also mistreated by their father. B. knew about the situation and that Van D. hid the six youngest children from the government.

According to the prosecutor, this makes him an accomplice in all this. B. did not want to participate in a study in the Pieter Baan Center and so it has not become clear whether B. suffers from a disorder. The OM assumes full responsibility for B. The children still experience the consequences of the faith initiated by Van D. on a daily basis and B. does not take his responsibility according to the OM. The prosecutor blames the man heavily for this.

Only B. is on trial. Van D.’s brain was affected by a brain haemorrhage. The court stopped the criminal case against Van D. in March last year, because the man would not understand what he is on trial for.